The US National Transportation Safety Board has rejected FAA responses to 11 of 33 safety recommendations linked to the 2025 mid-air collision near Washington, keeping a dispute over helicopter routing and collision-avoidance technology unresolved. The crash, involving an American Airlines regional jet and a US Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killed 67 people and remains the deadliest US aviation disaster since 2001.
The board said the FAA’s replies to the recommendations were unacceptable because they did not adequately address the safety risks identified in the investigation. One of the main sticking points is ADS-B In, a cockpit warning system the NTSB wants mandated for aircraft operating in airspace where ADS-B Out is already required. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the system could have alerted the passenger jet pilot 59 seconds before impact and the helicopter crew 48 seconds before the collision.
The FAA has been reviewing helicopter routes in six major cities, completed work in four and issued a directive to keep planes and helicopters separate. The agency has still not indicated whether it intends to write rules requiring ADS-B In, leaving the policy disagreement in place after earlier NTSB findings blamed systemic FAA failures and the agency’s decision to allow helicopters near the airport without adequate safeguards.